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CALL FOR ARTISTS:​

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Program Summary: Art Educators Exhibition

Curatorial Statement: Lights to the Lamp: An Exhibition of Alchemy
Presented by Motor House
Curated by Resident Artist Ernest Shaw

Motor House activates its gallery with Lights to the Lamp: An Exhibition of Alchemy, a curated showcase uplifting art teachers and art instructors from Baltimore City and Baltimore County.

This exhibition centers the artist-educator as both creator and cultivator—highlighting personal, professional, and creative practices rooted in resilience, identity, and community.

Curatorial Statement: Lights to the Lamp: An Exhibition of Alchemy

"Lights to the Lamp: An Exhibition of Alchemy" is a convening, a fellowship, and a testament to the transformative power of the artist-educator. This exhibition spotlights the creative practices of Baltimore City Public Schools art teachers—individuals who dedicate their lives to nurturing the next generation of creatives, often within a school system that is 70 percent African American and thriving despite systemic economic, social, and logistical challenges.

Too often, the creative educator is viewed only through the lens of their labor—their dedication to the classroom, to the curriculum, and to student achievement. This exhibit demands a shift in focus. It is an invitation to witness the "wholeness of being" of these artists, showcasing their personal, professional, and spiritual lived experiences.

Alchemy, in this context, represents the daily magic performed by Baltimore art teachers. It is the ability to turn limited resources into boundless possibilities; the act of transforming the trauma of systemic issues into resilient, healing art; and the transmutation of the daily grind into profound beauty. Just as a teacher brings light (the Lamp) to their students, they must also tend to their own fire (the Lights).

This fellowship of artists brings forth work that is not constrained by classroom pedagogy but liberated by personal experience. The works—spanning across mediums—engage with themes of resilience, community, identity, and the vibrancy of Baltimore itself. Lights to the Lamp serves as a vital space for these educators to gather, connect, and celebrate their collective identity, moving beyond the confines of professional development days and into a shared sanctuary of creative fellowship.

Curatorial Statement: Lights to the Lamp: An exhibition of Alchemy

The Invocation
To teach art in Baltimore is to be a keeper of the flame. It is a quiet, sacred alchemy—the daily labor of turning leaden systemic weight into the gold of a student’s reimagined future. Lights to the Lamp is an altar to the architects of this transformation: the artist-educators of Baltimore City Public Schools.

The Sacred Work
In a city whose pulse is defined by a deep, enduring Black brilliance, these educators stand at the crossroads of lineage and legacy. With a student body that is 70% African American, the classroom becomes more than a workspace; it is a site of ancestral reclamation. Here, "work experience" is a soulful exchange, a constant pouring of oneself into the vessels of the next generation. But who tends to the vessel of the teacher?

The Wholeness of Being
This exhibition strips away the title of "instructor" to reveal the raw, unyielding spirit of the Artist. It is a testament to their wholeness—the dreams they dream in the quiet hours after the bells have ceased, the textures of their own lived joys, and the colors of their private resilience. This is the "Alchemy" of our title: the mystical process of maintaining one’s creative fire while simultaneously lighting the lamps of a thousand others.

The Fellowship
Lights to the Lamp is not a meeting; it is a convening. It is a rejection of the clinical "professional development" day in favor of a profound, spiritual fellowship. It is a space for these creative healers to finally breathe together, to see one another not as cogs in a system, but as masters of their craft.

We gather here to acknowledge that the light we see in the city’s youth is a reflection of the fire these artists carry. This exhibition is the homecoming—a moment for the lamp-lighters to bask in their own glow.

 

Key Dates & Events

• Call for Artists Opens: March 29

• Extended Submission Deadline: May 1

• Notification of Acceptance: Following review by the curator

• Community Installation + Social Hour: TBD

  • Selected artists will install their own work based on curatorial selections

• Opening Reception & Panel Discussion:TBD

• Community Art Workshop: TBD

• Exhibition Dates: June 1– August 19

• De-Installation: August 20 - 6 PM-9 PM

 

 

Submission Details

Eligibility:

• Must be a Baltimore City Public Schools or Baltimore County Public Schools visual arts teacher

Required Materials:

• Resume/CV (including teaching experience)

• Bio

• Headshot

• Up to 3 images of 2D artwork

Artwork Requirements:

• Provide a complete inventory list including title, medium, dimensions, and retail price

• All submitted works must be available for sale unless otherwise agreed in writing

Selection Process:

• Artists will be selected on a first come, first served basis

 

 

Agreement Summary

Artist Responsibilities:

• Install their own artwork on the designated installation date

• Deliver artwork ready for installation (framed, mounted, or otherwise prepared)

• Provide a complete inventory list including title, medium, dimensions, and retail price

• Ensure all submitted works are available for sale unless otherwise agreed in writing

• Submit promotional materials (bio, artist statement, etc.)

• Grant permission for artwork to be photographed for promotional purposes

• Cover all transportation, shipping, handling, and insurance costs during transit

• Maintain copyright of all artwork

Motor House Responsibilities:

• Provide exhibition space for the duration of the exhibition

• Coordinate and support installation logistics

• Promote the exhibition through marketing channels (e.g., social media, email, website)

• Manage and process all sales transactions

• Retain a 30% commission on all sales

• Issue payment to artists within 14 days after the close of the sale

• Maintain records of consigned artwork through a signed inventory/consignment agreement

• Ensure safekeeping of artwork while in its custody

• Be liable for loss or damage (excluding inherent flaws) up to the value of the artwork

 

 

Contact & Location

Email: jessica@motorhousebaltimore.com
Address: 120 W North Ave, Baltimore, MD 21201

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